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SenselessLouis
Participant
January 26, 2020
Question

Best Way to add multiple voices to characters?

  • January 26, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 1486 views

Hi, 

 

Been searching and trying to learn more about this, but struggling to find a concrete answer so any help would be great! 

 

I've been successful in using lip syncing with a character in Adobe animat however, with the other character, we've had to use the same line of audio and just edit the mouth to keep the character quiet when it isn't his voice speaking. 

 

What would be the best way to add voices to different characters? Is it a case of animating on seperate projects and combining them on another program? We have an audio file that has both voices together and seperrate files of each individual voice. This is for a podcast type animation so looking for the best way to use the lip syncing to match with the right voices - but can only see that in Adobe animate only one audio layer can be used. 

 

Hope someone can help! 🙂

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1 reply

n. tilcheff
n. tilcheff
Legend
January 26, 2020

Hi mate,

 

There was a similar question the other day where I wrote a lengthy reply. It may be good to monitor that other topic as well, just in case if someone gives some valuable insight.

 

From the way you describe the situation I imagine that you are not familiar with the way files should be organised internally for character animation.

 

I will only briefly describe it here and paste some relevant links at the end.

 

Audio should always be set to 'Stream'.

All audio for the final output should be placed on the Main Timeline. Only that is exported.

 

Character animation should be nested at least one level deep. Working on the Main Timeline is bad practice.

Inside the animation timeline you can have characters either occupying multiple layers (for each body part so that you can tween) or each one nested into a container (Graphic Symbol).

Character heads are also containers and facial features are placed inside each on their own layer, mouth included.

These head timelines are as long (same number of frames) and synced to the Main Timeline.

The audio for each character is placed inside the head symbols and this is where lip sync is done either manually or automatically. This audio is not exported. It is there only for the lip sync and animation.

On the outside the head is treated as a whole and moved or rotated alongside the body parts to convey acting.

 

You would also have a copy of both character audio tracks at animation level so that you can time the acting and hit the accents of the dialogue.

 

More information is available here:

http://flash-powertools.com/workflow/
http://flash-powertools.com/character-rigging-for-flash-animation/
http://flash-powertools.com/edapt-movie-template-free-download/

 

Hope this helps!

 

Nick - Character Designer and Animator, Flash user since 1998 | Member of the Flanimate Power Tools team - extensions for character animation
S
SenselessLouisAuthor
Participant
January 27, 2020

Hi Nick! 

 

  1. Thank you so much for the response here. I've set the main audio to stream and the two characters have been placed inside their own folders, body parts have multiple layers too. 

 

Just so I've got this right, you'd have the full audio placed on the main timeline, and then you'd have the individual audio files placed under the respective characters head symbols in their own folders? So the audio there won't be exported? 

 

Again, thank you for this insight! 

 

Louos

S
SenselessLouisAuthor
Participant
January 27, 2020

Hi again Louis,

 

That is quite correct, except for symbol nesting is not folders, but rather symbols which contain elements inside themselves. These Graphic symbols have their own timelines.

You enter those (Edit in Place, double-click) and have the individual lipsync done in there. So you always deal with one character's mouth at a time.

 

If we simplify things to the absolute extreme (only for the example, in actuality things are nested further and way more complex) you will have this:

 

Main Timeline

Layer 1 - All dialogue set to Stream

Layer 2 - Music or sound effects

Layer 3 - Graphic symbol set to 'Play Once' start frame 1 - Character A - inside you have mouth and audio for Character A

Layer 4 - Graphic symbol set to 'Play Once' start frame 1 - Character B - inside you have mouth and audio for Character B

 

Character A and Character B are lip synced internally within their respective symbol timelines.

On the outside these timelines play in sync with the Main Timeline and we also hear the composite audio with added sound effects, music and so on.

 

Check out those links, mate.

It's quite a lot of information to be able to meaningfully convey in a forum post.

 

Best regards!


Hi Nick, 

 

Thanks again for this a lot! This has cleared up a lot and have been reading through those links too. 

 

Again, thank you, this information is very much appreciated!

 

Louis

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